ecj-workflow
GitHub该技能作为EJ投稿流程的路由器，根据稿件当前状态（如选题、实证、写作或返修阶段），智能推荐并触发对应的ecj-*子技能，协助作者按顺序完成从选题到回复审稿意见的全流程工作。
Trigger Scenarios
Install
npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ecj-workflow -g -y
SKILL.md
Frontmatter
{
"name": "ecj-workflow",
"description": "Use when deciding which ecj-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing manuscript work from topic selection through rebuttal for a The Economic Journal (EJ) submission. Routes — it does not replace — the specialized skills."
}
EJ Workflow Router (ecj-workflow)
Overview
This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill. It tells you which ecj- skill to use given where you are right now* in a manuscript aimed at The Economic Journal (EJ) — the Royal Economic Society's flagship general-interest journal, founded 1891 and published by Oxford University Press. EJ publishes across all fields of economics, theory and applied alike, for a broad international readership, and prizes work that is technically well-crafted, makes a substantial contribution, and is of broad interest to economists at large. Its house personality is breadth of relevance plus clear exposition — a sharp idea legible to a generalist beats a narrow result only specialists can read.
Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as EJ. Operational tells that you are at EJ and not a sibling: submission is through the Editorial Express portal (not ScholarOne); review is single-blind (referees are anonymous to authors; authors are not anonymized); there is an explicit short-paper option in the AER:Insights style (<6,000 words, 5 exhibits) alongside full-length articles; and accepted empirical, experimental, and numerical papers go through an EJ Data Editor reproducibility check with the replication package deposited to Zenodo or another trusted repository. Editor-in-chief as of the 2026-06-20 source refresh: Francesco Lippi; Data Editor: Damian Clarke. Re-verify volatile fees, charges, and rosters on the official OUP/RES pages.
When to trigger
- The user asks "what should I do next?" on an EJ-targeted paper
- A draft is handed over and the current bottleneck is unclear
- Work is bouncing between modeling, empirics, and writing with no clear order
- An EJ decision letter (reject / R&R) has arrived and the user needs to switch into response mode
Routing table
| Current symptom | Next skill |
|---|---|
| Idea is narrow / not clearly of broad interest to economists at large | ecj-topic-selection |
| Lit review reads as a list; contribution not framed for a general audience | ecj-literature-positioning |
| Empirics are OLS + controls; causal claim not defended | ecj-identification |
| A reduced-form result has no model / mechanism behind it | ecj-theory-model |
| Theory/structural model present but its discipline is unclear | ecj-theory-model |
| Main result rests on a single specification | ecj-robustness |
| Tables overloaded; figures not carrying the economic story | ecj-tables-figures |
| Prose buries the idea; a generalist cannot follow the argument | ecj-writing-style |
| Accepted/near-accept; need a DCAS package for the EJ Data Editor / Zenodo | ecj-replication-package |
| Want to anticipate the breadth/identification objections a referee will raise | ecj-referee-strategy |
| Ready to submit via Editorial Express; need a single-blind preflight | ecj-submission |
| Received an R&R; need the response-letter strategy | ecj-rebuttal |
Default order
ecj-topic-selection— lock a question of broad interest, and decide full-length vs. short paperecj-literature-positioning— situate the contribution for a general-interest readershipecj-identification— make the causal/empirical claim credibleecj-theory-model— the model or mechanism that gives the result its economic meaningecj-robustness— kill the alternative explanations a referee will floatecj-tables-figures— finalize exhibits so each carries economic contentecj-writing-style— make the idea land for a generalist (intro/abstract last)ecj-referee-strategy— pre-mortem the report you expect, patch holesecj-replication-package— assemble data/code to DCAS standard for the EJ Data Editorecj-submission— Editorial Express preflight (single-blind, JEL, short-paper option)ecj-rebuttal— after the R&R lands
ecj-writing-styleis a late polish stage; do not rewrite the intro before identification and the model settle. At EJ, exposition is part of the contribution — budget real time for it, but after the substance is sound.
Decision heuristics
- "I have a clean causal effect but only specialists would care" →
ecj-topic-selection(broaden the framing or rescope) - "My result is sharp and self-contained but short" →
ecj-topic-selectionthenecj-submission(consider the short-paper route) - "My intro cites everyone but never says what economics learns" →
ecj-literature-positioning - "DID uses TWFE with staggered timing and I haven't addressed heterogeneity bias" →
ecj-identification - "All my evidence is one regression" →
ecj-robustness - "A non-specialist reader gets lost by page 3" →
ecj-writing-style - "Submitting tomorrow" →
ecj-submission - "Got referee reports" →
ecj-rebuttal
Question ladder
Answer the questions in order; the first "no" routes you. Note the ladder never says "anonymize" — EJ review is single-blind and author identity is expected.
ecj-workflow question ladder (EJ, single-blind)
Q1 breadth would an economist outside your field finish
this paper? no → ecj-topic-selection
Q1b length result sharp but compact? consider the short
paper (<6,000 words, 5 exhibits,
AER:Insights style) yes → flag for ecj-submission
Q2 positioning does the intro say what economics at large
learns, not just who wrote before? no → ecj-literature-positioning
Q3 causal claim is the empirical claim defended beyond
OLS + controls? no → ecj-identification
Q4 mechanism is there a model or mechanism disciplining
the reduced form? no → ecj-theory-model
Q5 robustness does the result survive off a single
specification? no → ecj-robustness
Q6 exhibits does each table and figure carry the
economic story on its own? no → ecj-tables-figures
Q7 exposition can a generalist still follow the argument
by page 3? no → ecj-writing-style
Q8 pre-mortem have the expected referee objections been
patched in the draft? no → ecj-referee-strategy
Q9 package DCAS-standard replication set ready for the
EJ Data Editor (Zenodo or another trusted
repository)? no → ecj-replication-package
ALL YES → Editorial Express preflight (JEL codes, paper type) → ecj-submission
R&R arrives → ecj-rebuttal
Differences vs. JEEA / EER / top-5 stacks
EJ is a leading general-interest journal just below the top-5, with a distinct taste:
- EJ: the RES flagship, long history, breadth of relevance + clear exposition; theory and applied both core; an explicit short-paper option. A generalist must be able to read it.
- JEEA (EEA): European general-interest flagship; comparably broad, sometimes more selective/methodological in tilt.
- EER: European general-interest, often more field-specialized in practice; faster turnaround perception.
- Top-5 (AER/QJE/JPE/Econometrica/REStud): a notch higher on novelty/importance; EJ welcomes substantial, broadly interesting work that may not clear that bar but is excellent and general.
If the paper is purely methodological/econometric, The Econometrics Journal (also RES) may fit better. If it is a narrow field contribution a generalist would skip, reconsider framing in ecj-topic-selection before targeting EJ.
Anti-patterns
- Do not target EJ with a narrow result no generalist would finish — breadth of interest is a stated bar
- Do not waste effort anonymizing the manuscript — EJ review is single-blind, so author identity is expected
- Do not let
ecj-tables-figurespolish exhibits while the identification is still contested - Do not let
ecj-rebuttaldraft a response letter before the manuscript itself has been revised - Do not defer reproducible code to post-accept; the EJ Data Editor verifies the package before final publication
Version History
- 1839142 Current 2026-07-05 14:31
